Mobile commerce, using mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets or the like, is rapidly expanding in popularity. Near field communication (NFC) is being used in many types of mobile devices; and NFC is being adopted for a variety of applications. While wireless phones perform wireless communication (such as voice communication) at one power level, NFC is performed at a lower power level. NFC is often used in payment applications. In order to support NFC based transaction services, a secure element (SE) may be used. The SE is implemented in the Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) or the subscriber identity module (SIM) of new mobile devices.
NFC communication occurs when a mobile device with NFC capability is brought within NFC communication range of an NFC enabled terminal. An example of an NFC payment terminal is a point of sale (POS) which may be found, for example, in a brick-and-mortar store. In this example, the terminal sends out a command via a magnetic field to initiate communication with a contactless front end (CLF) which is found within an NFC controller in the NFC capable mobile device. The CLF interprets the command and routes the request appropriately. If the request is for mobile payment, the CLF routes the data to the secure element for authentication. Once the authentication requirement is met, secure information from the SE will be released through a secure channel from the SE through the NFC controller back to the POS terminal.
Many applications of the NFC controller are for the purpose of permitting secure access, either to monetary funds or to physical locations. In the example above, the NFC permits the mobile device to behave like a credit card. Other examples that use the NFC, for example, include access to a transit system and an electronic “key” in order to gain access to a locked building. Although interaction with the secure element may not be involved, NFC communication may also be used for a variety to information exchanges, for example, to allow mobile device users to share pictures from one device to another.